Hoove, or distention of the stomachs, but particularly of the rumen or first stomach, with gas, is a common complaint among cattle and sheep, and results from the eating of food to which the animal has been unaccustomed, from wet clover or vetches, or from any easily fermentable food. Relief generally follows walking exercise, friction on the belly, and a dose of any ordinary stimulant, which for a cow may consist of a couple of ounces of turpentine, whisky, ether, or ginger, to which should also be added, in order to clear the bowels of the offending food, a laxative, such as a pint of oil or a pound of salts. A fourth or fifth of these quantities will suffice for sheep. The introduction of the probang, with the small end downwards, allows the escape of gas when there is little food in the stomach. If simple remedies fail, the breathing becomes distressed and the animal stupid; the gas may with safety be allowed to escape by an external opening made at a point intermediate between the last rib, the lumbar vertebrae, and the prominence of the haunch, either with a canula and trochar or a large pocket or table knife. For several days after an attack of hoove the digestive organs are apt to be easily deranged, and the animal must have soft and digestible food, and an occasional dose of simple laxative medicine.
The horse's bowels when distended with gases are now punctured with the best results.